Skip to main content

Thursday's Tragic Event: The death of Douglas George Jeffery

Douglas George Jeffery was the son of Selby George Jeffery and his wife Florence Mary (nee Hughes).  He died as the result of an accident on the 16 December 1941 when he was 17 years old.  He was buried at Penrose Cemetery, cemetery details and a headstone photograph for him can be found here.  My connection to Douglas Jeffery is that he is my third cousin twice removed.


Source: YOUNG MAN'S DEATH. (1941, December 24). Goulburn Evening Post (NSW : 1940 - 1957), p. 6 Edition: Daily. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103632002

Transcript:

YOUNG MAN'S DEATHPopular Student
The death occurred on Thursday last, as the result of an accident, of Douglas George Jeffery, son of Mr. amd Mrs. Selby Jeffery, of Wingello.
Deceased was employed by a large chemical manufacturing firm in Sydney and a few days ago he accidentally dropped a jar of acid on his foot, the fluid entering the bloodstream and eventually causing his death.
He was a popular student of the Bowral High School and was vice-captain of the school during the last term. He had taken employment in the city while waiting for the result of his examination. 





Source: TRAGIC DEATH OF A POPULAR STUDENT. (1941, December 19). The Southern Mail (Bowral, NSW : 1889 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114796543

Transcript:

TRAGIC DEATH OF A POPULAR STUDENT
As we went to press, the sad news reached us that Douglas George Jeffery, son of Mr. and Mrs. Selby Jeffery, of Wingello, had died in Sydney as the result of an accident.  Having sat for his Leaving Certificate examination at Bowral High School, Douglas entered the employ of a chemical manufacturing firm in Sydney.  A few days ago he dropped a bottle of acid on his foot; the acid entered the bloodstream and eventually caused his death.
The news cast a deep gloom over Bowral High School.  Douglas, who was Vice-Captain of the school, had been a student there for the past five years.  He had taken employment in the city so that he might be usefully employed whilst waiting for the result of his examination and before entering upon the profession of his choice.
The Headmaster (Mr. S.K. Barker) in announcing the sad event, made reference to those qualities that had won for Douglas the respect and affection of all his teachers and fellow students.  On the sports field, in the classroom, and in all branches of school activity, his conduct was marked by manliness, courtesy, efficiency, dependability, cheerfulness, and friendliness.  He was a student of whom his school was proud and fond.  His passing had left the community poorer as his life had made it richer.




Source: Local and General. (1941, December 20). The Scrutineer and Berrima District Press (NSW : 1892 - 1948), p. 2. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article124195300

Transcript:

The death occurred in Sydney on Wednesday of Douglas George Jeffery, son of Mr. and Mrs. Selby Jeffery, of Wingello, as a result of an accident.  Having sat for his Leaving Certificate examination at Bowral High School, Douglas entered the employ of a chemical manufacturing firm in Sydney.  A few days ago he dropped a bottle of acid on his foot ; the acid entered the bloodstream and eventually caused his death.  The internment took place at Penrose cemetery on Thursday afternoon.

New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1796-1942 about Douglas George Jeffery

Name: Douglas George Jeffery
Inquest Date: 5 Jan 1942
Inquest Location: Sydney
Death Place: Balmain
Age: 17
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1925
Birth Place: Goulburn, New South Wales


Name of Deceased: Jeffery, Douglas George
Date When Held: 5.1.42
Where held: Sydney
Verdict: Burns accidentally received when a bottle of cresylic acid he was carrying broke.
Locality of Death: Balmain, District Hospital Balmain
Age of Deceased: 17
Where Deceased Born: Goulburn, N.S.W.



Source: Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1796-1942 [database on-line]. 

NSW BDM Death Index

26381/1941 JEFFERY DOUGLAS GEORGE SELBY GEORGE FLORENCE MARY BALMAIN  

Source: NSW BDM Death Index.  NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.  Retrieved from: http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Kendall Children.

I started this post a while ago and was going to finally finish and post it yesterday however our four grandchildren came over and I got sidetracked.  Our grandchildren range in age now from six down to one;  they are so full of life (each of them lights up a room when they enter it) and we feel extremely blessed to have them in our lives.  After spending the afternoon researching this post, their arrival made this tragedy even more poignant for me and so I appreciated their company even more than usual and hugged them a bit tighter too!  This morning I woke up to a cold, wet and windy Wagga day and the thought of three little girls out in August weather like this, in light weight dresses with no shoes or jumpers impacted on me even more. Those poor babies! One of the girls was found still clasping her doll that she had carried with her over the whole tragic journey. When my husband and I were looking around the Wagga Wagga Monumental Cemetery some time ago we came across a very sad he
9 comments
Read more

My First Fleet Connection - Mary Turner (aka Mary Wilkes/Wilks)

My 5th Great Grandmother Mary Turner (also known as Mary Wilks/Wilkes) is my earliest known and documented Australian relative.  She was tried at Worcester on  5th March 1785 and sentenced to seven years. Mary arrived on the ship Lady Penrhyn   in 1788.   It seems the 5th of March was not an auspicious trial date for Mary in 1785 or later in 1789!   On the 5th  March 1789 she was tried for stealing six cabbages from the garden of William Parr, she was found guilty and sentenced to 50 lashes.  Later in March 1789 she also was in trouble for her testimony in the trial of  Royal Marines accused of stealing from the government stores  (six of them were found guilty and executed) in which it was believed by some that she had perjured herself.  Mary was sent to Norfolk Island in 1790 on board the ship Sirius .  Apparently she stayed on Norfolk Island until 1793 when she returned to Port Jackson on board the ship Kitty .   Her de facto relationship with David Batty (a Third Fleet convict who
6 comments
Read more

Time for a happy dance! Well kind of .....poor Catherine!

Brickwall knocked down at last!  Catherine Rhall was murdered by her partner James Baker Worldon on the 14th February 1855 at Beechworth.  The Trove articles do involve my 4th Great Grandparents James Baker Worldon and Catherine Rhall!  I guess the family tree book will need updating now ;) I looked up the following record from the Public Record of Victoria and bingo the details match my ancestors records.  Catherine Rhall's fate is now known at last, she was murdered by her partner and he was only sentenced to two years imprisonment for it and by the look of it was released early in 1856!  I also found out he used the alias Milbank, which will give me new avenues for future research. Public Record Office of Victoria Series title: Central Register of Male Prisoners Sub-Item title: Worldon, James; (Milbank); (Jas Baker Worldon): No. 2265 Sub-Item number: Page 199 Date range: 1854 Public access: Open Format: Digital Source: Public Record Office Of Victoria.
15 comments
Read more